Officially, a rough day for Bears' Jeffery

Rookie WR whistled for 3 pass interference penalties

When push came to shove Sunday, Bears rookie Alshon Jeffery failed to get the benefit of the doubt from the officials.

The big, physical wide receiver was whistled for three offensive pass interference calls.

Quarterback Jay Cutler, who wanted to steer clear of criticizing the officials, was asked if hypothetically veteran receivers get more of the benefit of the doubt when the inevitable hand-fighting goes on throughout a passing route.

"Bump-and-run, press … they let 'em play early on (Sunday), and then they started calling it late," Cutler said. "I don't know for what reason. Alshon is a big receiver. Whenever he bumps a guy, the guy is going to move. I'm at a loss."

The Bears were at a loss, 21-13, as Green Bay clinched the NFC North title at Soldier Field. The calls that went against Jeffery were especially costly. One came in the end zone in the third quarter after he caught a 1-yard touchdown pass. Following a delay-of-game penalty, the Bears were forced to settle for a 34-yard field goal that made the score 21-10 instead of 21-14.

"If you look at our history, we haven't got a lot of (offensive pass interference calls)," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "All of (the calls) were really big plays. Normally you get a call that goes your way. But we had a lot of opportunities and that's how the officials saw it."

The 6-foot-3, 216-pound Jeffery said he merely was doing his job to outduel defenders to make a play.

"I like to play physical. That's the way the game is supposed to be played, right?" he said.

Jeffery and the Bears came out on the positive side on successive illegal contact and defensive pass interference calls on deep passes in the third quarter. Cornerback Sam Shields and safety Morgan Burnett were the offending parties for the Packers.

"My mindset going into the game is make plays," Jeffery said. "The receivers making plays and stepping up … we knew they were going to try to be physical."

Packers coach Mike McCarthy thought the officials made the proper calls with regard to pass interference.

"I give the officials a lot of credit," he said. "I thought they did a good job of letting the teams play today and calling the obvious penalties. I'm not always going to agree with every call they make, but I thought there was balance out there. I thought the calls that they did make … they didn't let it affect the outcome of the game. And those are tough calls. To get three (offensive pass interference calls) in one game … I'm glad it happened today."

Jeffery figured to be a key option for Cutler since the Packers did another good job of containing Brandon Marshall. Jeffery was targeted four times without a catch as a result of the penalties. Marshall caught six passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.

Marshall was struggling to find the right words after the game and left the postgame podium as he was overcome with emotion.

"It's very frustrating. You can see it on my face right now. Self explanatory," Marshall said before walking away.